Aerosol spray container

ABSTRACT

An aerosol spray container has a spray valve construction which will intermittently spray measured amounts of the container contents in an automatic sequence, but which can also be operated manually, when it is desired to override the automatic operation.

ite States Patent 1191 1111 3,722,749 Ishida 1 1 Mar. 27, 1973 54AEROSOL SPRAY CONTAINER 3,542,248 11 1970 Mangel ..222 70 3,589,5626/1971 Buch ..222/70 [76] Inventor: Mltsuo lshida, No. 9 Ageba-cho,

Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan Primary ExaminerRobert B. Reeves [22] 1971Assistant ExaminerL. Martin [21] Appl. No.: 213,991 Att0rneyMichae1 S.Striker [30] Foreign Application Priority Data [57] ABSTRACT Dec. 31,1970 Japan 45/129662 An aerosol Spray container has a Spray valveponstrufi tion which will intermittently spray measured amounts [52]U.S. CI ..222/61, 222/70 f the container contents in an automaticsequence Ilft. Cl. b t can l b operated manually, when, is [58] Field ofSearch ..137/624.14; 222/54, 61, 70 desired to override the automaticoperation.

[56] References Cited 4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures UNITED STATES PATENTS3,477,613 11/1969 Mange! .222/70 .5 J I I/22 -12 1 1 I 43 e 3/ 1 "if,52% 27 23 P29 Z8 Z6 PATENTEDHARZHQYS 3,722,749

SHEET 10F 3 TE I 1 AEROSOL SPRAY CONTAINER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONrecognized, the prior art has proposed an aerosol spray.

container having a valve for automatic intermittent spraying of thecontainer contents, with the valve utilizing a disc-shaped bimetallicelement which is alternate- 1y subjected to the cooling effect of thelatent heat of vaporization generated during spray of aerosol liquid,

and the heating effect of the ambient atmosphere. However, the operationof the bimetallic device used in this prior-art construction must be sodelicately adjusted that high precision is required in producing thedevice, leading to considerable expense and also leading to manyrejects. In addition, if the level of quality standards for theproduction of the device is even slightly relaxed, the aerosol containerprovided with a bimetallic device which deviates even slightly from theestablished norm will not operate properly.

An additional difficulty with this prior-art construction results in thefact that atmospheric temperature, that is the temperature in theambient atmosphere surrounding the device, will of course depend ontimes and location where the container is to be used. This means thatthe container requires in addition to the bimetallic device acomplicated adjusting mechanism to compensate for different ambienttemperatures.

Because the heretofore described prior-art construction has thus beensomewhat less than fully satisfactory,another construction has beenproposed in the prior art utilizing a valve in which the expandingpressure of the aerosol liquid controls the intermittent operation, withthe aerosol liquid being directly introduced into the operative valvechamber. Experience has shown that it is difficult in actual use toregulate the time interval at which successive sprays will take place,because the valve is abruptly actuated by momentary vaporization andexpansion of the aerosol liquid which is introduced into the valvechamber, even if the liquid is a small quantity. It has also beendifficult with this device to obtain a spray of the desired quantitybecause the valve is actuated by even a small quantity of the aerosolliquid so that the amounts dispensed during successive sprayingincidents will vary widely.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, accordingly, an object of the presentinvention to provide a device of the type here under discussion which isnot possessed of the disadvantages of the prior art.

More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to providesuch a device which will provide for automatic intermittent spraying ofmeasured quantities of the aerosol container contents at even intervals.

An additional object of the invention is to provide such a device inwhich the automatic operation may be I Q receptacle 1 and the casing 2has a threaded opening 3 overridden by a user so that the device mayalso be used manually, for intermittent or continuous spraying if andwhen desired.

In pursuance of these and other objects which will still become apparenthereafter, one feature of the in- .vention resides in an aerosol spraycontainer which,

briefly stated, comprises a receptacle having one region for a liquid tobe sprayed and a communicating other region for a gaseous propellantunder pressure. Valve chamber means is provided in the receptacle andhollow valve stem means has a nozzle portion outside the receptacle andan end portion in the valve chamber means. The valve stem means isslidable in a fixed path toward and away from the wall of the valvechamber means. Resiliently deflectable means is located between the walland the valve stem means and subdivides the valve chamber means into twocompartments which are located successively along the path. The endportion of the valve stem means is located in one of the compartmentsand bears upon the resilient means. Biassing means is located in theother compartment, bearing upon the wall and the end portion of thevalve stem means. First passage means connects the one compartment withthe other region. Second passage means connects the interior of thevalve stem means with the one region and third passage means connectsthe one compartment with the interior of the valve stem means, and boththe latter connections take place in response to movement of the valvestem means towards the wall.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to. its construction and its methodof operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof,will be best understood from the following description of specificembodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an axial sectionalelevational view of the device according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the device during anautomatic intermittent spraying operation; and FIG. 3 is a view similarto FIG. 2 but showing the device during manual spray operation.

' DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Discussing the drawing now indetail, it will be seen that in FIGS. 1 3 I have illustrated areceptacle 1 in a lower region of which (the bottom of the receptacle isnot shown) the liquid B to be dispensed will be accommodated and in anupper region of which the gaseous carrier A will be present. Located inthe receptacle 1 is an outer casing 2 secured to an upper portion of thein its upper portion. An aperture 4 is provided in its bottom and in itsside wall there is provided a passage 5 for introduction of the liquidto be dispensed. A valve casing 6 is accommodated in the outer casing 2being slidable therein and provided with a head portion 7 having athread 8 which is in mesh with the internal thread of the opening 3. Anadjusting member, for instance of coutchouc or rubber, but generallyspeaking of elastically compressible material, is accommodated betweenthe bottom wall 9 and the bottom wall 10 of the outer casing 2, theadjusting member being identified with reference numeral 11 and beingcompressed between the walls 9 and 10 wherein the head portion 7 isscrewed into the opening 3.

The valve casing 6 is provided with an opening 12 located in the upperportion of its side wall and communicating with a gap 15 which issealingly delimited by O-rings 13. Thus, liquid having passed through aconduit at the passage 5 will pass through the opening 12 and enter intoreservoir chambers 16 and 17 provided in the interior of theconstruction. A valve chamber 18 is provided in a lower portion of thecasing 6, communicating via an opening 19 with a gap 21 which isseparated from the gap 15 by the presence of the O-ring l4.

A hollow valve stem 22 is provided extending through the head portion 7into the valve chamber 18 and having an opening 23 in its lower endportion. Loosely received in this opening 23 is an engaging portion 26of an operative plate which is provided on a bellows 24. A spring 27between the portion 26 and the plate 25 urges the two apart. The lowerportion of the bellows 24 is fixedly secured to the bottom wall 9 andthe bellows is sealed, accommodating air or gas under atmosphericpressure.

The plate 25 is supported on resilient support members 28 which arelocated on at least three circumferentially spaced portions of the wallbounding the chamber 18, each of the members 28 being pivotable' aboutan axis 29 in such a manner that it may flex from the illustratedhorizontal position upwardly or downwardly in response to pressureexerted axially of the chamber 18. The members 28 are therefore capableof flexing under a predetermined force, and when the force acts in thedirection towards the bellows, they will permit the plate 25 to movedownwardly immediately as soon as this force level is reached. Biasingmembers, here illustrated as compression springs 30, are provided fortending to maintain each of the members 28 normally in horizontalposition, reference numeral 31 identifies a flange supporting thesprings 27 and defining a valve body which is urged against a resilientvalve seat 34 supported between a partition 32 and a flange 33 andsurrounding a passage 35 which extends through the valve stem from thevalve chamber 18.

The upper portion of the passage 35 communicates with a spray nozzle 36formed in conventional manner in a push-button 37 which is provided, asin all known aerosol spray containers, for manual operation uponengagement and depressing with the fingers of a user. An opening 38permits communication of the passage 35 with the chambers 16 or 17 aswill be discussed later, and an O-ring 39 is normally positioned belowthe opening 38 and serves to seal the reservoir chamber 17 relative tothe atmosphere. Another O-ring 40 is fitted about the valve stem 22opposite a partitition 41 which separates the reservoir chamber 16 fromthe chamber 17 so that descent of the valve stem 22 inwardly of thereceptacle 1 will result in sealing of the reservoir chamber 17 withrespect to the reservoir chamber 16. A further O-ring 42 is mounted onthe partition 32 The automatic intermittent spray operation of thedevice thus far described will now be discussed with reference to FIG.2. It will be understood that part of the gaseous propellant A willprogressively enter through the opening 4, the adjusting member 11, thegap 21 and the hole 19 into the chamber 18 when the adjusting member 11is depressed. The rate at which the propellant A enters into the chamber18 can be adjusted by adjusting the degree of depression of theadjusting member 11 with a slight rotation of the head 7 in thedirection in which it would be unscrewed from the opening 3. As thepropellant A enters the chamber 18, the pressure within the latterprogressively increases, leading to a simultaneous compression of thebellows 24. The bellows must be so constructed that it is fully extendedand subject to a downward force so that it can be readily compressedonly in axial direction so that the operative plate 25 will initiallytend to move downwardly in FIG. 2, being however prevented'from so doingby the presence of the members 28 until the pressure of propellant A inthe chamber 18 exceeds a predetermined level at which it is capable offlexing the members 28. When this level is reached the plate 25 willmove downwardly at once and as a result the portion 26 will rapidlydescend and draw the valve stem 22 downwardly. Now, the propellant A inthe chamber 18 can discharge through the opening 43 which has been moveddownwardly to the level of the chamber 18, and via the passage 35 to theatmosphere. Before this takes place, the chambers 16 and 17 will befilled they are filled constantly with the liquid B which enters throughthe conduit 20. As the valve stem 22 thus moves downwardly, the quantityof liquid accommodated in the chamber 17 is discharged via the nozzle 36when the opening 38 of the stem 22 moves beyond the O-ring 3,9 as thestem 22 descends,

lt is important to note that only a specifically measured predeterminedquantity of liquid from the chamber 17 is to be sprayed, and that theprovision of the O-ring 40 which is urged against the periphery of theparitition 41 seals the chamber 16 and prevents spraying of itscontents.

As the gaseous carrier A is discharged from the chamber 18, the pressurein the chamber 18 drops'and the plate 25 is then returned to its initialposition flexing the members 28 upwardly as the gas sealed in thebellows 24 restores the latter to its normal configuration. Thebefore-discussed operation is repeated when additional gaseous carrier Aprogressively enters into-the valve chamber 18 and eventually attainsagain the predetermined pressure, at which time the chamber 17 willagain be filled with liquid and the stem 22 will again be moveddownwardly in the manner described above.

As already pointed out, however, the device according to the presentinvention can also be operated manually. This is shown in FIG. 3. Itwill be seen that if the push-button 37 is depressed to the extent thatthe O-ring 40 moves downwardly beyond the partition 41, releasingsealing contact between the O-ring 40 and the partition 41,communication will be established between the chamber 16 and the chamber17. As a r result of this, the liquid B which is under the pressure ofthe gaseous carrier A which is located in the upper part of thereceptacle 1, is expelled through the conduit 20, the passage 5, theaperture 12, the chambers 16 and 17, and the opening 38 in a continuousspray; When pressure on the button 37 is released after a desiredquantity of the liquid has been dispensed, the stem 22 automaticallyreturns to its initial position and spraying will terminate.

It is clear from the disclosure herein'that a device according to thepresent invention can operate both manually and also can sprayautomatically at intervals which are controllable as to their lengths,and that furthermore the quantity of liquid dispensed during eachautomatic intermittent spraying incident will be accurately measured.Thus, the device according to the present invention provides fullfreedom for the user over the control of its operation. The device maybe readily operated and adjusted, depending upon the requirements of agiven location, without being affected by the ambient atmospherictemperature and the time or place of use. A spray of predeterminedquantity during each automatic spraying incident is assured and thedevice according to the present invention thus overcomes all of thedisadvantages which have been outlined in the introductory portion ofthe specification with reference to the prior art.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofconstructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in anaerosol spray container, it is not intended to be limited to the detailsshown since various modifications and structural changes may be madewithout departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can, by applying current knowledgereadily adapt it for various applications without omitting features thatfrom the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent isset forth in the accompanying claims:

1. In an aerosol spray container, in combination, a receptacle havingone region for a liquid to be sprayed and a communicating other regionfor a gaseous propellant under pressure; valve chamber means in said andsaid end portion; first passage means connectin said lower compartmentwith said gas region; an

second passage means connecting the interior of said valve stem meanswith said liquid region, and third passage means for connecting saidcompartments with the interior of said valve stem means, in response tomovement of the latter towards said wall.

2. In an aerosol spray container as defined in claim 1, said resilientlydeflectable means being deflect-able towards said wall under apredetermined pressure which is greater than the force required forcompressing said biasing means.

3. In an aerosol spray container as defined in claim 2, wherein saidbiasing means is a sealed bellows whose interior is at atmosphericpressure.

4. In an aerosol spray container as defined in claim 2, wherein saidvalve stem means is movable towards said wall to a first operativeposition in which said third passage means connects said one compartmentwith said valve stem means, and a second operative position closer tosaid wall and in which the interior of said valve is connected with bothof said regions.

1. In an aerosol spray container, in combination, a receptacle havingone region for a liquid to be sprayed and a communicating other regionfor a gaseous propellant under pressure; valve chamber means in saidreceptacle; hollow valve stem means having a nozzle portion outside saidreceptacle and an end portion in said valve chamber means, said valvestem means being slidable in a fixed path toward and away from a basewall of said valve chamber means; resiliently deflectable means betweensaid wall and valve stem means and subdividing said valve chamber meansinto a lower and an upper compartment located successively along saidpath, said end portion located in one of said compartments and bearingupon said resiliently means; biasing means in the other compartmentbearing upon said wall and said end portion; first passage meansconnecting said lower compartment with said gas region; and secondpassage means connecting the interior of said valve stem means with saidliquid region, and third passage means for connecting said compartmentswith the interior of said valve stem means, in response to movement ofthe latter towards said wall.
 2. In an aerosol spray container asdefined in claim 1, said resiliently deflectable means beingdeflect-able towards said wall under a predetermined pressure which isgreater than the force required for compressing said biasing means. 3.In an aerosol spray container as defined in claim 2, wherein saidbiasing means is a sealed bellows whose interior is at atmosphericpressure.
 4. In an aerosol spray container as defined in claim 2,wherein said valve stem means is movable towards said wall to a firstoperative position in which said third passage means connects said onecompartment with said valve stem means, and a second operative positioncloser to said wall and in which the interior of said valve is connectedwith both of said regions.